Treatment with a drug used to combat the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis appears to reduce the occurrence of osteoarthritis-related damage in the knee, according to a new report. Bone is normally resorbed and replaced continuously, but when the turnover is unbalanced and too much bone is lost it can lead to osteoporosis. Anti-resorptive drugs like alendronate (better known as Fosamax), as well as other types of agents, are used to stop the disease process. The current findings are based on a study of 818 post-menopausal women who participated in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study and had symptoms of knee osteoarthritis. Structural changes in the knee were assessed by MRI and X-rays, and knee pain severity was gauged using a standard scale. Among the participants, 26 percent used anti-resorptive drugs -- such as alendronate, estrogen, and raloxifene (Evista) -- Dr. Laura D. Carbone, from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, and colleagues note in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.
